The subject matter disclosed herein relates to masking pure tones within sound being generated from a noise generating source by reducing the intensity of pure tones within the sound.
Today, noise generating sources may create unwanted, distracting noise in various environments. For example, some noise generating sources may include printing devices, heating and ventilating (HVAC) equipment, gas turbines, and automobiles. The unwanted noise may therefore exist in office environments, inside and outside power plants, or in open-air environments, for example. The unwanted noise may include broad band noise (e.g., white noise) or tonal noise (i.e., pure tones) or a combination of both. A pure tone may be recognized in the form of a whistling sound or a siren type sound. There are typical methods used to reduce unwanted noise produced from the noise generating sources.
In a power plant environment, certain environmental noise standards must be met. One method for reducing the tonal noise from power plant equipment or the power plant as a whole, or other noise generating sources has been to reduce the intensity of the pure tones by using a silencer. The task of reducing the intensity of pure tone may become very difficult and expensive.